Research & Publications | Healthy Eating Research

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A Technology-Driven, Healthcare-Based Intervention to Improve Family Beverage Choices: Results from a Pilot Randomized Trial in the United States

Within an academic health system in the United States that already performs electronic health record-based sugary drink screening, we conducted a pilot randomized trial of a technology-driven family beverage choice intervention. The goal of the intervention was to reduce sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) and fruit juice (FJ) consumption in 60 parent–child dyads, in which children were More

Date: April 2023

Resource Type: Journal Article

Focus Areas: Beverages

Water is K’é: A Community-Based Intervention to Increase Healthy Beverage Consumption by Navajo Preschool Children

This research brief gives an overview of the Water is K’é intervention, conducted among Navajo Nation families. The intervention was delivered by early care and education teachers to households with children ages 2-5, and covered the cultural importance of water, health benefits of water, and alternatives to sugary drinks. At baseline, more than 70% of children already More

Date: December 2022

Resource Type: Research Brief

Focus Areas: Beverages Early Childhood

Marketing of sugar-sweetened children’s drinks and parents’ misperceptions about benefits for young children

Despite expert recommendations, U.S. parents often serve sugar-sweetened children’s drinks, including sweetened fruit-flavored drinks and toddler milks, to young children. This qualitative research explored parents’ understanding of common marketing tactics used to promote these drinks and whether they mislead parents to believe the drinks are healthy and/or necessary for children. We conducted nine focus groups More

Date: February 2022

Resource Type: Journal Article

Focus Areas: Beverages Early Childhood

Changing Policies and Practices to Implement Beverage Consensus Recommendations

In 2018, Healthy Eating Research (HER)—a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF)—developed a national research agenda to reduce the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) and increase access to and consumption of safe drinking water among 0- to 5-year-olds. Through this process, it became clear that a lack of consistent recommendations for beverage More

Date: November 2021

Resource Type: Commissioned Research Project Summary

Focus Areas: Beverages Early Childhood

Restaurant kids’ meal beverage offerings before and after implementation of healthy default beverage policy statewide in California compared with citywide in Wilmington, Delaware

In 2019, California and Wilmington, Delaware implemented policies requiring healthier default beverages with restaurant kids’ meals. The current study assessed restaurant beverage offerings and manager perceptions. Pre-implementation, the most common kids’ meal beverages on California menus were unflavored milk and water (78·8 %, 52·0 %); in Wilmington, juice, milk and sugar-sweetened beverages were most common More

Date: April 2021

Resource Type: Journal Article

Focus Areas: Beverages Food Retail

SHIFT: Testing Culturally Appropriate Messaging for Black Community to Limit Children’s Sugary-Beverage Intake and Increase Water Consumption

The project’s goal is to conduct a randomized, controlled trial to evaluate the impact of a culturally appropriate social behavior change communication campaign on sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) and water consumption among black families with children aged 0-5 years. Specific aims include: (1) Deliver a culturally appropriate social behavior change communication campaign with messages delivered through More

Date: April 2021

Resource Type: Grant Summary

Focus Areas: Beverages Early Childhood

Developing Policy and Environmental Approaches to Sustain an Early Head Start Healthy Beverage Program Among Hispanic Families of Infants and Toddlers

The study uses a systems science approach to identify upstream strategies that can support sustained changes in the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and water in a low-income, predominantly Hispanic community. This research is designed to generate information crucial for the development of robust multilevel systems recommendations that are contextually and culturally appropriate. Specific aims include: More

Date: April 2021

Resource Type: Grant Summary

Focus Areas: Beverages Early Childhood

Understanding and increasing water availability and accessibility in family child care homes to improve young children’s water and sugary beverage intake

This study seeks to explore the barriers, facilitators, and feasible strategies to increase drinking water access, availability, and intake in family childcare homes (FCCH). Specific aims include: (1) Conduct provider focus groups to determine barriers and strategies to improve water access/intake in FCCH; (2) Conduct intervention pilot with 40 providers operating FCCH in low income More

Date: April 2021

Resource Type: Grant Summary

Focus Areas: Beverages Early Childhood

Long-term impact of home-visiting on SSB intake & early childhood obesity, and effects of emergency COVID-19 water equity efforts on the Navajo Nation

This research extends follow up on Native American children enrolled in the Prevention of Early Childhood Obesity 1 (PECO1) study 2017-2019 to determine whether positive impacts of the Family Spirit Nurture intervention on infant sugar sweetened beverage intake and infant growth are sustained through 5 years of age. It also examines point of use water More

Date: April 2021

Resource Type: Grant Summary

Focus Areas: Beverages Early Childhood Healthy Communities

Healthy default beverage policies for kids’ meals: A statewide baseline assessment of restaurant managers’ perceptions and knowledge in Delaware

This study evaluated restaurant managers’ knowledge and support of a healthy default beverage policy in Delaware that had passed, but not yet gone into effect. We conducted structured in-person interviews with managers (n = 50) from full-service and quick-service chain and non-chain restaurants (QSRs) using a stratified random sample. Managers were interviewed about the number More

Date: December 2020

Resource Type: Journal Article

Focus Areas: Beverages Food Retail